Very well then.

The brokering power the UAW has is hurting the auto industry. It's creating a higher financial overhead (UAW car costs $5,000 in overhead to produce, which is significantly higher than a non-UAW car). Couple this with lax standards on tenured union workers, it creates for an environment that does not produce the best-quality cars, either.

The UAW workers didn't tell GM and the Big Three to hedge all their bets on gas guzzling vehicles when it was obvious that the oil market would be volatile as soon as we started waging war in the Middle East. Not to mention an oil crisis in the 80's certainly gave them a couple decades worth of warning.

Pinning this on the unions is misguided and is an attempt to misdirect blame. Sure, the UAW certainly isn't helping the situation, but they are just along for the ride. The executives are driving the car.

Your right, Akuma, the car makers should have kicked out the unions in the 70s and 80s when they negotiated the horrendous contracts that they now have.

I won't argue, however, the opinion that the companies are at severe fault for banking on SUVs so much. However, you can look at any of the Big 3's revenues from overseas ventures, and realize that the only place they're doing poorly in is America. I wonder why?

Obama is throwing away all the wealth of America, rich and poor. He simply doesn't have the experience and people are starting to see he isn't the Knight in Shining Armor that he proclaimed himself to be.

^ I really think you're deluding yourself.

Why does everyone hate unions so much? We are waaaaaay less unionized then we were 50 or 20 years ago. If you look at what the real costs that hurt the car companies via unions, blame healthcare costs. My uncle is a sheetmetal worker and 12 dollars an hour goes to healthcare benefits (though he never uses it since he is single and has no kids). 7 dollars an hour x 2000 hours a year = 14000 in medical insurance. The total plan may be more.

There are problems with unions though in ways stickball mentioned.

Some say unions aren't needed anymore, they did their job. And honestly, in some industries, unions now just screw with business.

I've been in plants as of 2006.  I can tell you that doesn't happen.

The "Job Bank" program is just something that stops the exportation of jobs overseas.  The people there aren't lazy.  They're people whose jobs have been moved over seas anyway because the Big 3 decided to bite the bullet short term to make long term profits by letting 3rd worlders make next to nothing.

At current anyway.  They actually have the option to give these people open jobs but the management of the company doesn't do it... even for local jobs.

For example when jobs opened up at many plants due to the buyout deal rather then bring in the job bank workers GM decided to hire a bunch of "temporary employees" part time.   Then they hired them full time.

Then they laid them off.

Also that 5,000 dollar quote is completely about healthcare.

You really don't think workers should have company provided healthcare?

Anyone drunk on the job today would obviously be fired.

Hell anyone who's away from his station would be fired if it's a job that requires continuial work.  People get fired all the time in UAW plants.

I think you'd be surprised how soon corporations would realize the opportunity to screw employees if unions were not in the picture.  In fact, look at Wal-Mart.